I like healthy recipes and trying dishes that are new to me! Do you? This week I decided to see if we (my husband and me) might like a chicken recipe casserole dish called Keshi Yena from the island of Curacao in the Caribbean. The recipe calls for lots of healthy ingredients such as red and green bell peppers, onions, raisins, olives, and lean chicken. I thought it might be a winner in terms of taste but what I wasn’t so sure about was the amount of cheese.
Photo: Mark Boughton; Styling: Teresa Blackburn
I LOVE cheese. Unfortunately, my body can’t handle very much. Cheese typically contributes a significant amount of saturated fat, sodium, and calories. Are any of these an issue for you? Most of the time I go easy with cheese. So I wondered if I could I successfully modify the recipe without changing it too much and sacrificing taste?
I think I succeeded in doing just that. I reduced the cheese a little, chose to use an alternative low sodium cheese to the one called for in the original recipe, and changed the portion size for the final cooked dish. By doing this I learned I could indeed include Keshi Yena as a healthy meal option in a low calorie diet such as the menu I’ve shared on my weight loss website. In addition, my husband thought it was good!
You can find the original recipe Keshi Yena on the website for the news magazine Relish. I reduced the vegetable oil, used tomato sauce instead of tomato paste, and decided to include low sodium Provolone cheese slices instead of Gouda. Gouda might have worked fine, I just couldn’t find any already sliced or low sodium at the grocery store.
Something I discovered when making the recipe is a technique for cooking a casserole dish on the stovetop. Makes sense that people might want to avoid using the oven in a warm climate. Although the original recipe calls for preparing the dish in 4 8-ounce ramekins, I chose to use a 1 1/2 qt. round casserole dish and it came out fine.
Keshi Yena (Chicken Stuffed Cheese)
Serves 5 (approximately 289 calories per serving)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. raisins
1 small can sliced black olives
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 Tbsp. chopped dill pickles
4 Tbsp. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
8 slices reduced sodium provolone cheese
(The recipe calls for cooked chicken. If you start out with deboned uncooked chicken breasts, you can cook these up first on the stovetop with a little oil. Allow to cool. Then shred with clean hands. With the exception of cooking up the chicken I found the recipe to be quick and easy to prepare.)
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add peppers and onions. Saute for 5 minutes. Add raisins, olives, shredded cooked chicken, pickles, tomato sauce, salt and black pepper. Cook 5 minutes. Let cool.
2. Grease a 1 1/2 qt. round casserole dish with vegetable oil spray. Line the bottom with 4 slices of the cheese. Fill with the chicken mixture. Top with remaining slices of cheese.
3. Place the casserole dish in a large pan. Add hot water halfway up the sides of the casserole dish. Cover the pan tightly with foil or a lid and cook over medium-high heat. When the water begins to boil reduce heat slightly to allow for a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. (The casserole dish does not need to be covered.) Serve from the stovetop when the cheese has melted. (It’s a little tricky to get the hot 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish out of the pan when it’s hot.) Serves 5 (289 calories per serving) or 4 (362 calories per serving).
Let me know if you give the chicken recipe casserole dish a try and what, if any, modifications you make!
Have a great week!
Lori
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